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Air quality now: AQI56Moderate, Walsall

City report · England, United Kingdom

Walsall Air quality today

Air quality in Walsall currently reads AQI 56 (Moderate): Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

AQI 56

Air quality right now

Moderate

Main pollutant: PM2.5
PM2.5, fine particles (µg/m³)
11.9
tree cover
32.4%
trees in this area
102K
more trees needed
0

Measured across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Walsall, UK (4.9 sq mi), from a satellite image of Aug 23, 2026. Lower AQI is better: 0–50 is Good, above 300 is Hazardous.

Walsall · AQI 56 (Moderate)

Dark green marks tree cover detected inside the study radius.Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search, captured Aug 23, 2026

Walsall's tree count comes to 101,686 trees across 4.8 sq mi (12.56 km²) of land, already at or above the 30% tree-cover level considered healthy for this area.

Air quality detail

Air quality in Walsall today: AQI 56, Moderate

Main pollutant: PM2.5 · Observed Nov 11, 16:00 local time via World Air Quality Index Project ground stations, US EPA index. Values in µg/m³.

Ground station · Birmingham Ladywood, United Kingdom, 7.7 mi (12.4 km) away · median of 2 stations

Health signal

Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

PM2.5

11.9

PM10

16.8

NO₂

—

O₃

—

SO₂

—

CO

—

Data: World Air Quality Index Project, UK-AIR, air quality information resource - Defra, UK

Outdoor exercise
Fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier
Windows
Fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution
Mask
Not needed for most people
Air purifier
Worth running if you are sensitive

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Walsall's daily AQI at 66 on average, from 30 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 97 on Nov 8.

Last 7 days · model estimateavg 66 · peak 97
Nov 4: AQI 30 (peak 48)Nov 5: AQI 36 (peak 55)Nov 6: AQI 70 (peak 85)Nov 7: AQI 88 (peak 95)Nov 8: AQI 84 (peak 97)Nov 9: AQI 79 (peak 84)Nov 10: AQI 74 (peak 78)
Nov 4Nov 10

This is the US EPA AQI. How it differs from the UK's Daily Air Quality Index

Where Walsall stands: the most polluted cities in the world right now · the cleanest

Tree cover detail

Tree cover in Walsall: Healthy tree cover

32.4% tree cover against a 30% healthy-neighborhood target, across 4.8 sq mi (12.56 km²) of land.

Target reached

Trees in this area

101,686

Target trees

101,686

More trees needed

0

CO₂ if planted / yr

0 kg

Deforestation · 2001–2025

How much forest has Walsall lost?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Walsall has lost about 20 hectares of forest (about 28 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 2 hectares (8.9%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns.

Satellite image of the area around Walsall, July 2017

2017: satellite photo from July 2017 of a 5 × 5 km area in the city center.

Forest lost since 2001
20 haabout 28 football pitches
Share of its forest
under 1%of what there was in 2000
Cleared for good
2 hadeforestation: turned into farms, mines or towns

The worst year was 2006, when about 4 hectares of forest were lost.

Forest lost each year around Walsall, 2001–2025

Hectares of forest lost each year

Forest lost each year around Walsall, 2001–2025. Use the left and right arrow keys to read each year.4.1

Show the figures as a table
Forest lost each year around Walsall, 2001–2025
YearCleared for goodCan grow backTotal
2001under 1 ha2 ha2 ha
2002under 1 ha1 ha1 ha
2003under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2004under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2005under 1 ha2 ha2 ha
2006under 1 ha4 ha4 ha
2007under 1 haunder 1 ha1 ha
2008under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2009under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2010under 1 ha2 ha2 ha
2011under 1 ha2 ha2 ha
2012under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2013under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2014under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2015under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2016under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2017under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2018under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2019under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2020under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2021under 1 ha2 ha2 ha
2022under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2023under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2024under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha
2025under 1 haunder 1 haunder 1 ha

What is causing deforestation around Walsall?

  • Loggingcan grow back55% · 11 ha
  • Towns and roadscleared for good7.4% · 2 ha
  • Farms, pasture and plantationscleared for good2.5% · under 1 ha

Also: unknown causes.

Causes for 2025 are estimates, based on what caused forest loss in the same places up to 2024.

Forest gained and lost, 2000–2020

Forest in 2000
4,660 ha
Forest in 2020
5,400 ha
Overall change
+738 hamore forest than in 2000

Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Walsall grew from about 4,660 hectares to 5,400 hectares, a net gain of about 738 hectares (+16%). New forest grew on about 831 hectares, while 93 hectares were lost.

These 2000 and 2020 maps, from the University of Maryland, count any land with trees taller than 5 m as forest, including plantations and orchards. Forest that was cut or burned and had grown back by 2020 counts in both years, so the loss here is smaller than the yearly figures.

These figures cover everything within 10 km of the city center, a wider area than the report above, because forest is usually lost at a city's edges.

Source: Hansen/UMD/Google/USGS/NASA, Global Forest Change (GFC-2025-v1.13); causes: WRI/Google DeepMind drivers of forest loss; both CC BY 4.0, summed by Airleaf for each area. Forest gained and lost 2000–2020: Potapov et al. 2022, UMD GLAD Global Land Cover and Land Use Change, CC BY 4.0. Images: contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data. How it's measured

In the same region

Measured cities near Walsall

Same 2 km radius, same index — so they compare directly.

  • Birmingham

    United Kingdom

    12.9 km
    Tree cover
    16%
    Air quality
    56
  • Solihull

    United Kingdom

    23.5 km
    Tree cover
    49%
    Air quality
    67
  • Telford

    United Kingdom

    33.0 km
    Tree cover
    46%
    Air quality
    77
  • Burton upon Trent

    United Kingdom

    33.7 km
    Tree cover
    25%
    Air quality
    46
  • Coventry

    United Kingdom

    37.6 km
    Tree cover
    27%
    Air quality
    23
  • Worcester

    United Kingdom

    46.9 km
    Tree cover
    27%
    Air quality
    39

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Walsall air quality (AQI) and tree cover — measured by Airleaf
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Frequently asked

Questions about Walsall

What is the air quality (AQI) in Walsall right now?

The latest reading for Walsall shows an AQI of 56 (Moderate), measured Nov 11, 16:00 local time by 2 ground monitoring stations via OpenAQ (the median of their readings; the nearest is Birmingham Ladywood, United Kingdom, 7.7 mi (12.4 km) away). The main pollutant is PM2.5. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting long outdoor exertion.

Is it safe to exercise outside in Walsall today?

At AQI 56 (Moderate): fine for most people; unusually sensitive people should take long or hard exercise easier. Windows: fine to open; close them if you are sensitive to pollution. Masks: not needed for most people. The reading changes through the day, so check again before a long run or ride.

What has the air quality in Walsall been like this week?

Over the last 7 days, the CAMS air-quality model put Walsall's daily AQI at 66 on average, from 30 on Nov 4 to an hourly peak of 97 on Nov 8. No day averaged above 100, the level where the air turns unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Is Walsall's AQI the same as the UK's Daily Air Quality Index?

No. Airleaf shows the US EPA Air Quality Index (AQI), the scale used by IQAir and most air-quality apps. The UK's Daily Air Quality Index (DAQI), published by Defra, runs from 1 to 10: 1–3 low, 4–6 moderate, 7–9 high and 10 very high. It is a different scale altogether, so a US AQI figure can't be read on it directly; both, though, are built from the same main pollutants, with fine particles (PM2.5) usually the one that decides the reading.

How much forest has the area around Walsall lost since 2001?

Since 2001, the area within 10 km of Walsall has lost about 20 hectares of forest (about 28 football pitches): under 1% of the forest it had in 2000. Most of it was lost to logging, so much of it can grow back. About 2 hectares (8.9%) was deforestation: forest cleared for good for farms, mines or towns. Comparing satellite maps from 2000 and 2020, the forest around Walsall grew from about 4,660 hectares to 5,400 hectares, a net gain of about 738 hectares (+16%). New forest grew on about 831 hectares, while 93 hectares were lost.

What is the tree count in Walsall?

Walsall has an estimated 101,686 trees across the 4.8 sq mi (12.56 km²) of land measured — 32.4% tree cover, already past the 30% tree-cover target set for this area.

How many more trees does Walsall need?

Walsall has already reached its tree-cover target, so no additional trees are needed to close the gap.

How are Walsall's air quality and tree cover measured?

Air quality is measured by ground monitoring stations near Walsall, via OpenAQ; the 7-day trend is the Open-Meteo / CAMS model's estimate. Tree cover is measured from Sentinel-2 L2A (ESA Copernicus) via Earth Search satellite imagery at 10 m detail across a 1.2 mi (2 km) radius around Walsall; the tree count is an estimate derived from that cover.

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